Observe Even on the Cloudiest and Darkest Night with Professional Night Vision Equipment

With Quality Night Vision Goggles or Scopes You’ll be able to See an Object that’s more than 2 Football Fields Away from You!

If you’re performing a surveillance of some kind, then you know how important it is not to get noticed. You need to observe your ‘target’ as effective as possible, while at the same time, being almost invisible so no one could see and suspect you.

What if you have to monitor your suspect and it’s a cloudless night at the moment. You know, it’s very easy to get confused and mistakenly start monitoring a completely different person’ The only way to be a good spy is to arm yourself with good spy equipment. That’s why surveillance at night is absolutely worthless without quality night vision equipment.

If you ever needed to secretly spy on your suspects at night, you know that it’s very hard to accomplish without good night vision goggles or other night vision equipment of some kind. Every professional private investigator or head hunter uses night vision equipment to secretly navigate, observe and spy on their suspects at night. If you’re not yet using night vision goggles or scopes in your private investigation or other spying activities, then it’s time for you to get some quality night vision equipment and become a true spy.

What Night Vision Equipment Should I Choose?

Of course, it all depends on what type of surveillance you need to do. If you need to look at an object for a short time and get back to a normal view quickly, then night vision scopes or night vision monoculars would probably be the best option. Such devices are also good when it’s not completely dark yet, so you can get back to a normal view. They’re easy to deal with.

On the other hand, if you need night vision equipment for secret spying activities, such as sneaking into the object and taking photos of some kind, constantly monitoring a suspect while moving at the same time, then night vision binoculars or goggles are your choice.

You can wear night vision goggles all the time without taking them off. It’s very convenient, especially when you have other items in your hand or want to have free hands. You can put night vision goggles on your head. Unlike binoculars, they don’t require you to hold them in both hands all the time.

What those First, Second, Third and Fourth Night Vision Generations Mean?

Night vision equipment has been around for over 40 years. Of course, the technology has changed over time. So as each new substantial change was made in NVD (night vision device) technology, a new generation was established.

Every night vision device has a so called light intensifier tube, which is the core of night vision equipment. So the changes in these light intensifier tubes, mean what generation a night vision device is classified to.

Let’s briefly look at each of the four NVD generations:

First Night Vision Device Generation
The first generation NVD’s are the most widely used night vision equipment today. This generation uses passive infrared. It uses the ambient light of the moon and stars to get decent amount of reflected infrared in the area. This generation doesn’t require projected infrared light. However, this means that they are not very good at cloudy or moonless nights where no light from stars or the moon can be obtained. The image is blurry, distorted and the tube lifetime is short.

Second Night Vision Device Generation
Next generation of NVD’s offer some major enhancements in technology compared to the first one. Some obvious improvements are better resolution, performance and reliability. A moonless or cloudy night is not a problem for this generation night vision equipment. The addition of a micro-channel plate to the image-intensifier tube is the main culprit of the better performance. When electrons pass through this micro-channel plate, even more electrons are released. This extra process gives you brighter and sharper images. Second generation night vision equipment is preferred by many private investigators or other law enforcements, because of the good price and quality combination.

Third Night Vision Device Generation
The third generation night vision equipment is mostly used by the U.S. military. These NVD’s have better (sharper and brighter) image quality than the second generation. This was achieved by adding a gallium arsenide (sensitive chemical, which is very effective at converting photons to electrons) to the photocathode. The life of the tube was also increased. This was accomplished by covering the micro-channel plate with ion barrier.

Fourth Night Vision Device Generation
The fourth generation of night vision equipment introduced the biggest changes in night vision technology. This technology introduced an overall improvement in low-level and high-level light environments. In the 4th generation the ion barrier (that was added in the 3rd generation) was removed. This resulted in background noise reduction and thereby, enhancement in signal to noise ratio. Also, night vision equipment of this 4th generation allows devices to quickly respond to different lightning conditions. If night vision devices of earlier generations couldn’t see anything when the light is on, this 4th generation devices can automatically switch from dark to light environment.

How Night Vision Equipment Works?

If you’re not a technology geek, then you should probably pass this section, because it might sound like some kind of rocket science’

The technology used in night vision equipment differs one from another. That’s why not all night vision devices work the same. Basically, night vision equipment works in two different ways – ‘Image Enhancement’ and ‘Thermal Imaging’.

Image Enhancement

Image enhancement technology relies on image intensifier tube, which is used in many NVD’s, to collect and amplify infrared and visible light.

First, conventional lens captures the ambient and near-infrared light in the environment. Then the gathered light is sent to the image intensifier tube. This image intensifier tube has a photocathode that is then used to convert the photons into electrons. When electrons pass through the micro-channel plate in the tube, more electrons are presented. This multiplication causes a chain reaction where thousands of atoms are released. At the end of the tube, the electrons meet the phosphor screen. Electrons maintain the position in relation to the channel they passed through. The electrons then cause phosphors to release photons. Those phosphors then create a green image, which is what you actually see with night vision equipment.

Thermal Imaging

Thermal imaging technology used in night vision gear works different than image enhancement technology. The whole process can be described this way:

Lens focuses the infrared light emitted by the objects in the environment. Focused light is then scanned by so called – phased array of detector elements. These detector elements then create a detailed temperature scheme called a thermogram. This thermogram is then converted into electric impulses. Those impulses then are sent to a chip, which translates the information into display data. Depending on the intensity of the infrared emission, the display represents various colors on the screen. The combination of all the impulses then creates the whole image, which you can see with night vision equipment.

How to Take Care of Your Night Vision Device?

If you’re thinking about night vision goggles or night vision monoculars, then you should also think about taking care of such night vision items. Here are some tips for you on how to take care of your night vision equipment.

Bright Light

First of all, if your device is not 4th generation, then you should not use it in bright light. Do not use your night vision equipment in very bright room or daylight. If you direct your NVD to the headlights or any other direct light, then such intense lights might damage your item. Some devices have functions to automatically turn off a device if bright light is presented. However, you’re never too careful.

Water or Rain

You shouldn’t use your night vision equipment when it’s raining. This may also damage the device. However, there are night vision devices that are water resistant. With such devices, you may observe in the rain without any worries. So you should think about water-resistant night vision gear before ordering.

Cleaning Lenses

If you’ll clean the night vision device’s lens with rough cloth, you might damage the lens. Also, don’t push too hard or too much when cleaning. Simply, take soft lens brush to remove dust. For heavier dirt or fingertips, use soft cotton cloth by moving it in circular motion on the lens. You may search the web for special tissues to remove dust or other dirt from camera lenses. You should also find special fluid for that.

Storing NVD’s

Store your night vision equipment in cool and dry area. If your NVD will face a temperature of 120 degrees in Fahrenheit, your device will probably be damaged. Try not to keep your equipment in the vehicle, because vibration may also damage internal parts of your NVD. Finally, remove the batteries from your device. This will prevent battery leakage or internal damage.

It doesn’t mean that if you skip some of the tips above, you’ll definitely damage your night vision equipment. However, keeping your NVD safe will result in longer lifetime and better performance over a long period of time.

If You Want a Quality Night Vision Equipment
such as Night Vision Goggles

P.S If you need quality night vision equipment for professional use, then our partner might offer you some good options below $1000. Take some of the tips mentioned above and apply them to your our partner night vision equipment and you’ll have a great, long lasting, professional NVD for years.

P.P.S Night vision goggles, monoculars or binoculars can make your night surveillance a peace of cake. Search for the most reliable night vision equipment at our partner online store today!

Has 17 years of experience in security & surveillance field. Helping people to secure their homes and protect their families. Introducing latest spy tech, PI toys, and providing tips on personal privacy.